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The case of the flying chunk is closed.
Senior Cpl. Kevin Janse, police spokesman, said on Thursday that officers were able to confirm that a 6-pound metal glob that punctured a roof and a second-story floor Tuesday at home in southeast Dallas was from a machine used to shred trees and shrubs."It has been confirmed that the object that struck the house was in fact a grinding bit off of a tree grinder from a nearby tree service," Janes said. But Janse declined to speculate on how it was launched, or if workers at the business knew what happened."It is not clear if they were aware that the bit was thrown," he said, "and since it is just an accident we will not release the name of the business."It didn't take long, however, for readers of the Star-Telegram to offer their theories by e-mail or calling the newspaper. Several of them were sure that the bit was from a wood chipper, and one offered his thoughts on homemade catapults."There must be a mulching operation very nearby," wrote Roger in an e-mail.But Michael, also by e-mail, stated that there "happens to be a place that mulches trees right behind the neighborhood that your chunk of metal landed in. Guess it isn't space debris after all."Another Michael advanced the catapult theory."The device could have been a test for a 'pumpkin chunkin' device," he wrote. "Those who own these devices are usually proud of their catapult accomplishments. The police may want to scan Facebook and MySpace for people who live nearby with a catapult hobby or 'pumpkin chunkin' pictures on their profiles."On Wednesday, no one had been able to identify the metallic loaf that southeast Dallas residents found in their house — along with holes in the roof and the second-story floor— when they arrived home late Tuesday afternoon.The house is in the 7800 block of Buford Drive, which is northeast of the intersection of Interstate 35E and Interstate 20.State troopers had been called, and so had state environmental investigators. Even the Federal Aviation Administration was on the case.The metal had two drilled holes in it, Janse said Wednesday. No one was home when it hit, and police were summoned at 5:19 p.m. Tuesday, Janse said.But investigators saw that it hit "with enough velocity to break through the roof and second floor," he said. A special unit from Dallas Fire-Rescue determined that it tested negative for "radiological activity," Janse said.There had been no reports of debris falling from airplanes, said Roland Herwig, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman.It was the second airborne mystery to engage North Texans this month.On Feb. 15, a meteor disintegrated as it passed over the region. Aviation officials had speculated that the fiery orb, about the size of pickup truck, was debris from the collision a few days earlier of two satellites over Siberia. The officials and the astronomers later concluded, however, that the thing over Texas was a meteor.BILL MILLER, 817-390-7684
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